Snowpocalypse coming this evening?
Probably not. In fact, there’ll be less snow than was earlier expected, according to the National Weather Service and Steve Pierce, The Columbian’s weather blogger.
But folks headed home from work this evening do need to beware of slippery roads.
The latest NWS forecast calls for a mix of light snow, up to one inch in Vancouver, and freezing rain, possibly one-tenth of an inch, rolling in at 6 to 7 p.m. this evening, Julia Ruthford, meteorologist/forecaster, said Monday night.
That snow-ice pattern likely will continue until around midnight Tuesday in Vancouver. The weather should return to the typical rainy winter pattern on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, she said.
Heading east past Camas and Washougal into the Columbia River Gorge, more snow and cold weather are forecast.
Monday night was dry with breezy east winds in east Vancouver, Camas and Washougal — gusts of up to 30 mph or so — and conditions even more windy heading into the Columbia River Gorge, which will stay colder longer.
But clouds were expected to move in from the south this afternoon, causing an approximately six-hour window of snow and ice until the ground and air warms above freezing, Ruthford said.
Pierce had this to say late Monday afternoon:
“It was 45 degrees today. The ground is not frozen and even with a cold overnight low tonight, it will likely be above 32 degrees (today). But I think the major headlines here are: 1.) No ‘snowpocalypse’ is coming this way and 2.) A quick-hitting event would be the worst case, if it does materialize, which I think it won’t for 80%-plus of the metro area.
“But let’s also remember that a little freezing rain can go a long ways at rush hour.”
